“What makes a label sell: its name or the person behind it?” (The Guardian, 3-3-2000) It seems like fashion houses have spent the last decade playing the musical chairs game with their fashion designers (Socha, 2012). At Saint Laurent Paris, for instance, Hedi Slimane, who was the label’s men’s creative director from 1997 to 2000, came back as creative director in 2012 to replace Stefano Pilati (2004-2012) who, himself, had replaced Tom Ford (2000-2004) previously. Meanwhile, at Louis Vuitton, Nicolas Ghesquière left Balenciaga to fill the shoes of Marc Jacobs who had been creative director for the label since the late 1990s (1997-2013). And at Dior, Raf Simons took over from Bill Gaytten (2011-2012) who had discretely held the ship after the abrupt departure of John Galliano (1996-2011). The phenomenon of a brand having to replace a key persona with whom it is cobranded is far from rare: sports team regularly draft new athletes, television screenwriters kill beloved characters because actors are leaving their shows, and political parties must replace departing leaders. In these contexts, as in fashion firms, maintaining brand equity across successive cobranding alliances with key personae is a challenging brand management issue. In this research project, we aim to further our understanding of how fashion brands can maintain equity by examining how they manage ongoing cobranding between the house and the designer, especially given the challenges faced by the succession of designers – or game of musical chairs - most houses face. The research questions guiding this effort are as follows: 1) Why do fashion houses cobrand with key personas? 2) What challenges are associated with cobranding with key personas? and 3) What strategies are enacted to address these challenges? To investigate these questions, we have examined the ways that some of the most successful fashion houses manage their brand equity through the dynamics of cobranding. We illustrate our findings with the case of Saint Laurent Paris, a fashion house established in 1968 by Algerian-born French designer Yves Saint Laurent. In this abstract, we first review some key literature on cobranding, then discuss our methodology. We conclude by presenting our preliminary findings. Theoretical Perspectives on Cobranding A generic definition of cobranding refers to it as an alliance “in which two or more brands are presented to the public” (Newmeyer, Venkatesh and Chatterjee 2014). In practice, conceptualizations of cobranding vary. One that is common entails “ingredient branding” in which a key ingredient of one brand is some other brand, such as an Intel chip inside a Dell computer (e.g., Desai and Keller 2002). Another common conceptualization refers to two parent brands launching a new product, as when “two leading fashion houses…join forces to create a new line of clothing” (Monga and Lau-Gesk 2007, 391). Recent work has also acknowledged that cobranding can take place between people and brands. For example Wilcox and Carroll (2008) discuss celebrity cobranding, wherein a celebrity cobrands with a product brand. And in the organizational literature, the fact that a CEO’s personal brand is intermingled with that of the company that person manages has been well recognized (e.g., Graffin, Carpenter, and Boivie 2011). Our conceptualization of fashion designers as cobranded with the houses that employ them is consistent with such research, in that it considers a type of cobranding in which an employee who is a key persona in a company, and that company’s product offerings, are together presented to the public. A frequent assumption in much cobranding research is that it takes places “between two successful brands” (Monga and Lau-Gesk 2007, 389); however, in practice, it is possible for the two brands in an alliance to vary in the extent to which they are already well known and successful (Cunha, Forehand and Angle 2015). Further, cobranding arrangements can vary in terms of the level of integration; in some instances, cobranding might entail mere co-location, whereas in others, the brand partnership may mean that the features of the each brand are tightly integrated and difficult to decouple (Newmeyer et al. 2014). Relatedly, cobranding may vary in terms of duration, ranging from a promotional cobranding that is intentionally short-lived to enduring cobranding that is intended to persist for years or decades. The focus of past cobranding research has frequently been on exploring how consumers respond to cobrands. However, scholarly attention has also been turned to the strategies that firms use to manage the challenges of cobranding. Our work falls within the latter category. Methodology Data Collection To examine the dynamics of cobranding with a key persona in the fashion context, we collected a combination of archival and observational data from five major fashion houses: Balenciaga, Dior, Gucci, Louis Vuitton, and Saint Laurent Paris. The archival data includes articles drawn from the fashion coverage of the last fifteen years of: The New York Times, The Financial Times, The Guardian, The Wall Street Journal, The Daily Telegraph and Le Monde. Coverage from fashion industry key media references such as Women’s Wear Daily, Style.com and Vogue.com is comprised as well. Using Factiva, Lexis-Nexis, and the fashion houses’ own digital archives, we searched and collected articles that pertained to the disintegration of the cobranded alliance and integration into of the new cobranded alliance for the fashion houses mentioned above. In our dataset, we also included reviews of promotional materials such as fashion exhibitions (e.g., Müller and Chenoune’s (2010) “Yves Saint Laurent”), and popular culture artifacts such as films (e.g., Lespert’s (2014) “Yves Saint Laurent”). Furthermore, to help us contextualize the branding strategies and practices of the fashion houses, we reviewed documentaries and books published about the fashion industry such as Nicklaus (2012) “Fashion Go Global,” English’s (2007) “A Cultural History of Fashion in the 20th century,” Palomo-Lovinski’s (2010) “The World’s Most influential Fashion Designers,” and Steele and Menkes’ (2012) “Fashion Designers: A-Z.” Finally, our archival dataset was complemented by observational data gathered from visits to the fashion houses’ New York City flagships and department stores’ concessions. Data Analysis Following the conventions of qualitative research (Belk, Fischer and Kozinets 2013), the analysis of our data was an iterative process of interpreting, deriving new questions, searching for and collecting new data, and rejecting, confirming, and refining our emerging interpretation until reaching sufficient interpretive convergence and theoretical saturation. We present a summary of our findings in the next section. Findings Below, we indicate our answers to the three research questions raised in the beginning of this abstract. 1) Why do fashion houses cobrand with key personas? Luxury fashion houses operate in an institutional field where the logic of art and the logic of commerce are intertwined (Scaraboto and Fischer, 2013). While fashion may not be art per se, well-respected figures such as Pierre Bergé, Yves Saint Laurent’s longtime romantic and business partner, consider that it requires an artist to create fashion (Bergé, 2015). Dion and Arnould (2011), in their research on the charismatic aura of contemporary luxury fashion designers, have argued that managing the relationship between a fashion house and its artist, i.e. the designer, is an essential element of successful luxury brand management. In the fashion industry, cobranding efforts between a fashion house and a designer thus appears to be a deeply institutionalized norm from which deviating could be risky. One reason behind this institutionalized norm is that the business of fashion requires constant renewal (e.g., Agogué and Nainville, 2010). The introduction of a new designer within an established house can serve this renewal purpose. Moreover, as celebrity culture seems to pervade every sphere of life, the phenomenon of celebrity designers resonates with broader socio-cultural trends (Agins, 2014; Oeppen and Jamal, 2014), reinforcing the value of a key persona’s vibrant image. 2) What challenges are associated with cobranding with key personas? For a fashion house, at least two challenges are associated with cobranding with a key persona: 1) maintaining brand continuity and 2) protecting the brand from a key persona’s imperfections. The first challenge implies that while the nature of the fashion industry invites brands to constantly refresh their offerings and engage in innovation (Oeppen and Jamal, 2014), fashion houses, like other brands, must also strive to maintain brand continuity in order to preserve their brand equity (Keller, 2000). Maintaining brand continuity while keeping the brand fresh suggests maintaining a clear and differentiated brand positioning while enrolling new brand meanings that can sometimes be contradictory or counterintuitive (e.g., “Gucci's top designer to refashion YSL look,” Finn, 2000). When a fashion house joins forces with a key persona, the aesthetic, style and cut of what the designer creates must somehow blend with the core attributes of the fashion house to create, an overall brand experience that is innovative, yet reminiscent of the house’s signature. The second challenge fashion houses face when cobranding with a key persona is protecting the brand from human imperfections. Among these “imperfections,” the most obvious is the inevitable mortality of key personas. In addition, key personas, by virtue of being human, have other purposes in life than consistently serving the market. Their actions and behaviors may sometimes conflict with, be counterproductive to, and/or undermine their own brand equity development (Parmentier and Fischer, 2012,) and that of their partner in a cobranding alliance (e.g., Béroard and Parmentier, 2014). 3) What strategies are enacted to address these challenges? We identify strategies enacted to disintegrate relationships with designers who are departing and those used to integrate new designers into cobranded relationships with the houses that hire them. Examples of strategies enacted to disintegrate cobranding relationships include “erasing” “denigrating,” and “respectfully acknowledging” the departing designer. Examples of integrating strategies include “legacy linking,” “restricting sphere of influence,” “fostering self promotion,” and “encouraging innovation.” The paper defines these strategies, notes that they are not mutually exclusive but rather may be complementary, offers examples of all strategies drawing on the data collected, and offers preliminary insights on the implications of these strategies.

Consumers with a strong desire for exclusivity tend to prefer scarce products more than those with a weak desire for exclusivity (Bagwell and Bernheim 1996; Lynn 1991). For example, they are willing to pay more for limited-edition products to fulfill their desire for exclusive association with scarce resources (Amaldoss and Jain 2005). In an effort to further develop the theoretic framework for the scarcity effect, I examine the interactive effect of desire for exclusivity and power, defined as asymmetric control over valued resources (Magee and Galinsky 2008), on evaluations of scarce products such as luxury experiential products. Two experiments show that participants with strong desire for exclusivity evaluate luxury experiential products more favorably than those with weak desire for exclusivity, only for high power condition, not for low power condition. This finding suggest that power state moderate the effect of desire for exclusivity on consumers’ preference for scarce products.

An empirical research on the Moncler case shows that brand loyalty moderates the consumer reactions to brand crises. While highly loyal consumers express sympathy toward the company, which predicts positive effects on brand attitude and purchase intention, lowly loyal consumers express anger, which predicts negative effects on the dependent variables.

Among the current trends that set the social and cultural scenario pertinent to marketing, the search for authenticity by consumers has taken the highlights, to the point that it is considered “one of the cornerstones of contemporary marketing” (Brown et al. 2003, p. 21).This trend is normally interpreted as a reaction to the traits of current post modern society, characterized by hyper materialism, globalization, virtualization and commercialization of experiences (Arnould e Price 2000). In this context, individuals turn with growing interest towards what is “genuine”, “real” , “faithful to the original” or “of undisputed origins” (Boyle 2004). In our paper we propose, under a consumer-based perspective, to explore the role played by corporate museums in the search for authenticity by individuals. Based upon this, the museum -- in the quality of “ bearer” of the corporate identity and image -- would consent to offer its visitors a holistic view of the brand’s original culture and values, in a synthesis that integrates past and present. From this point of view, the experience offered to visitors would reinforce their connection to the brand (Mitchell e Mitchell 2001), consolidating their involvement and loyalty towards it (Mitchell e Orwing 2002). The corporate museum would therefore arise as a vehicle to create and consolidate a profound relationship between brand and consumers. However, only a few of the research efforts sustained so far have tried to explore empirically the museum’s potential as a platform to enrich and strengthen brand authenticity. Our attention is focused on a museum created by a well known luxury brand (Gucci Museum, located in Florence) for the purpose of investigating its role as a tool for authentication, capable of strategically connecting past, present and future. After a synthetic literature review and a brief introduction of the museum under research, the methodology of the explorative research will be explained and finally, the main results obtained will be presented. Literature review According to Beverland (2009, p. 16), brand authenticity must be interpreted as “subjective, socially constructed, and given to an object by consumers, marketers and others”. Overcoming the modernist concept, authenticity is redirected towards individual valuations that are socially negotiated, more than towards objective attributes (Beverland e Farrelly 2010). The extant literature has identified the multidimensional and multi attribute aspect of the construct. In regards to the former aspect, the seminal work of Beverland (2005), theoretically identifies three dimensions that are conceptually relevant for brand authenticity: - objective, connected to the object and its artistic, historical or qualitative veracity; - subjective, deriving from the individual attribution of an authentic status to the objects, understood as expressive of formal harmony, equilibrium or of a connection with a determined time and location; - self expressive, connected to the genuine manifestation of individuality which is conveyed by the consumption of certain objects. Once the multidimensional nature of the construct is ascertained, it is possible to outline the various attributes that define it (Beverland 2006; Gundlach e Neville 2012; Brown et al. 2012; Grayson, Radam, 2004; Napoli et al. 2014). In view of the objective dimension, the perceptions of authenticity appear to be rooted in the brand’s tangible reality, which can be evaluated based on its observable characteristics: the corporate exponents; the geographical roots; the longevity; production characteristics; the product attributes. As to the subjective dimension, a brand can be interpreted as authentic if it is capable of conveying certain associations. These may initially regard the connection of the brand with individual history, as well as its evolution over time (in terms of continuity of positioning, style, aesthetics and image coherence). Also, the commitment towards quality, which expresses the brand’s responsibility towards its own products and the promises conveyed to the market (credibility, reliability) come together to induce the image of authenticity. In the same direction, there are also several perceptions in operation which are connected to the brand’s peculiarities, such as originality, pioneering and exclusivity. Furthermore, brand authenticity is also fuelled by an ensemble of value associations, connected to the pursuit of non purely commercial objectives, to its genuine priority of artisanal objectives or, more generally, to its integrity, naturalness or sincerity. Finally, for the self expressive dimension, brand authenticity may derive from its capacity to connect to the image and concept that customers have of themselves. The perception of authenticity can result from the fact that it suscitates in individuals sensations of self effectiveness, problem solving capabilities and therefore perceptions of having reached performance related objectives. A brand can then be understood as authentic also by its capacity to make consumers feel that they are part of a social or territorial community to which they feel linked. Furthermore, for people who attribute a particular value to moral principles, authenticity is associated to ideals and virtues which the brand continuously follows by means of ethical standards which allow individuals to feel truer to themselves. In conclusion, brand authenticity can be interpreted as the result of the interaction between objective factors, subjective constructs and existentialist motivations. Beverland and Farrelly (2010) observe that consumers seek different forms of authenticity, based on their own personal objectives. The understanding of how consumers associate a variety of authenticity attributes to brands and the ways in which those components reciprocally influence each other appears to be an extremely useful from the point of view of brand management. In fact, the brands that propose to refer to uniqueness in their strategies, must find leverage on the dimensions that are reputedly relevant for consumers and, for each one, identify the most critical attributes. Research methodology To investigate the capacity that brand museums of fashion luxury brands have to contribute towards the perception of brand authenticity, we conducted an esplorative research on the Gucci Museum’s visitors. The survey was held based on content analysis of the reviews posped on Tripadvisor by the visitors themselves. The research was therefore based upon 79 reviews, heterogeneous in terms of the geographic provenance of the commentators, date of visit and overall evaluation. Of these, 45 were published in English, 26 in Italian, 4 in Portuguese, two in French and two in Russian. Considering the evaluation, that is the rating expressed by visitors on a scale of 1 to 5, the most part (77,22%) of comments expresses a medium-high rating (corresponding to ratings 4 and 5). Finally, more than half of the comments were published during the same month as the visit and less than 5% within the following six months or more. Those reviews underwent a content analysis, a methodology considered appropriate in the extant literature (Pan et al. 2007; Banyai 2010; Volo 2010; Li e Wang 2011) for the purpose of investigating the perceptions, impressions and general feeling associated to a certain tourism destination, or a visitation experience. Discussion In trying to understand how the museum structure might add value to the brand’s meanings, in strengthening the perceptions of authenticity, we attempted to insert the brand authentication process into the broader museum visit experience, investigating how the brand’s authentication tools may have been influenced (positively and negatively) by the perceptions of authenticity of objects and experiences. The Gucci Museum acquires a real museum legitimacy, standing on the same level as other Florentine cultural sites; it was interpreted as a memory site, where the brand’s history and fashion history are connected thanks to the remembrance of past events, people or periods, effectively “dignifying” the museum and the visit as a fundamental part of Florentine tourism. Some visitors “authenticate” corporate structures as true cultural institutions. As such, they are legitimized in the righteous pursuit of preserving and being custodians not only of brand history but also of the precious testimonials of Italian fashion. Concerning the contents, that is, the objects displayed at the museum, several reviews attributed to these a real and proper museum aura, bearing artistic worth and interpreted as true masterworks. The process by which these visitors project their own perceptions of authenticity to the objects observed, seems to be tied as a conceptualization of constructivist nature to several elements that go from stylistic-aesthetic value and quality of the products, a result of knowledgeable artisanal mastery, to the refinement and creativity of the objects themselves. For some visitors, the objects collected in museums acquire authenticity in view of their antiquity and rarity. What is relevant is the indexical authenticity of objects. It is conceivable that this process for the authentication of objects may be susceptible of influencing the brand image perceived by visitors. For some visitors, the products displayed in commercial venues acquire, by the end of the visit, an aura that brings them closer to museum pieces, expressive of the same creativity, artisanal mastery or symbolic connection with the past. The same visit to the maison’s points of sale is lived by some as an occasion to observe up close the brand’s masterworks, showcased but distant and untouchable during the museum visit. Most reviews, when describing the museum visit, made reference not so much to impressions and evaluations regarding the museum structure or the objects it contains, but instead, to the visiting experience as a whole. For these reviewers, the corporate museum represents a platform on which to experiment authentic moments. From this viewpoint, the notion of existential authenticity seems more relevant than the authenticity of the objects, as postulated in a post modern approach. In reference to the dimensions of authenticity that can be imbued in an experience, it was possible to conceptualize the role of the corporate museum as a vector for the experimentation of different types of authentic experiences. In the first place, the corporate museum – thanks to its setting and content displayed – was identified as a medium capable of conveying a surreal experience. As such, it allows an authentic experience from the intrapersonal point of view, offering the opportunity for immersion into an atmosphere, a world far from reality, feeling transported into the past or into a world of imagery, thus departing from the commonplace. The museum was also understood as an occasion to live an evasive experience in regards to traditional Florentine museums.. Finally, the museum visit is lived by some as an opportunity to consolidate existing personal connections and/or to establish new ones. Deepening the analysis, it is possible to verify that the exhibition spaces are interpreted as a frame for the consolidation of personal relations with the individuals that share the visit experience. The visit to the museum distinguishes itself because it is a collective experience, an opportunity to spend time with other people that allows for the sharing of common passions towards the brand and its history.

Suppliers of luxury fashion fabrics in France have historically been working in fierce competitive ways. Usually family-owned businesses, they are working for the same clients, be it in fast fashion, premium fashion or luxury (including Haute-Couture). Calais lace-makers are no exception. However, what could have been described as same emulation in the past turns out to be a weakness in the XXIst century, with booming foreign competition from developing countries. Up to now, they’ve been unable to join their forces to collaborate on projects such as big orders from fashion brands. Created in 1952, the Dentelle de Calais® label can be used by the lace manufacturers using Leavers machines, and active members to the French Federation of Lace and Embroidment (which is the IP owner of the label). This encompasses the places of Calais (traditionally manufacturing lace for undergarments) and of Caudry (more focused on clothes). Caudresian lace has become famous as a proud supplier for the Duchess of Cambridge’s wedding dress or for the awarded costumes in The Great Gatsby. However, it appears that the label is currently dying, being unequally used by the various lace-makers and retailers / brand owners of clothes or undergarments. In January 2014, a repositioning of the label has been initiated. We’ve been asked to do it and decided to use action research to complete this task. The ultimate objective was to give a new identity to the label and DNA to the brand, which could be used by any lace-maker using Leavers machines in a way enhancing his own brand equity. In short, we aim at crafting an ingredient branding strategy. The present action research, on top of solving the client’s issues, aimed at enhancing knowledge on several key topics. First, we wanted to understand better information processes in a cluster that is bi-located, and with internal “fights”. Then, another objective was to grasp the various points that are at stake when clustering happens in-between non-aligned partners. More specifically, we wanted to uncover how decisions happened, and stimulate new ways for decision-making optimization. A last objective was to reflect upon ingredient collective-branding strategic developments, as most literature on branding concerns individual brands and not collective ones. As these become a major trend in these days, we believe academic research has a great role to play. Our research is a first step in this direction. To do this, various data collection and analysis methods have been used: • Interviews with all types stakeholders (fashion designers, purchasers, marketers, journalists, students in fashion or business schools, etc.), to understand their present vision of lace fabric in general and whether they would or would not use it (including in their sales argument). Then similar discussion on Calais lace is conducted. Open-coding and axial coding are then done to identify the values associated with lace and Calais lace, for each stakeholder-category. • Semiotic analysis of the label, to understand the Ethics and Aesthetics of this collective brand. This includes content and discourse analyses, visual (iconic and plastic) analysis of the communication tools including the logo, etc. The current label positioning is presented thanks to the greimasian semiotic square . • Non-participant observation and non-directed interviews with all lace-makers to get each one’s perspective on the label. Open coding and axial coding (Strauss & Corbin) are used to identify the relevant categories and sub-categories underlying the dicsourses. • Lexical analysis of all verbatims will help identify the proper jargon to reconcile stakeholders and manufacturers. • Market analysis on the various relevant markets: Middle East, Europe and Asia. • Structural semiotics are used to wrap-up findings and craft a new brand identity (Greimas’ semiotic square and narrative scheme). More than a simple action, this ingredient-branding collective action will help foster a collective conscience around the preservation of an endangered manufacturing sector of activity, paving the way for a future industrial cluster. Besides the managerial outcomes, this project aimed at (1) Understanding better information processes in a cluster that is bi-located, and with internal “fights”; (2) Grasping the various points that are at stake when clustering happens in-between non-aligned partners, esp. in terms of decision-making processes; and (3) Reflecting upon ingredient collective-branding strategic developments. Our paper presents all these points, providing practical and theoretical insights for the luxury community in general.

Reviewing survey research published in the Journal of Fashion Marketing and Management during the years 2010 – 2014, we highlight two areas where theory testing in global and cross-cultural fashion marketing would benefit from improvement. In particular, cross-sectional, single-source research designs and alternative explanations threaten the internal validity of the literature. Our aim is to discuss how a series of well-established survey preparation techniques and post hoc tests can overcome these threats and strengthen the findings stemming from global and cross-cultural fashion marketing research. At the core of our recommendations are recent advances in common method variance testing and covariate analysis. We discuss how these prescriptions can be used to advance theories related to large-scale global and cross-cultural fashion marketing research efforts.

The global luxury market is relentlessly growing over the last few decades, defying the global economic crisis. It is estimated that the luxury market is made up by a continuously enlarging heterogeneous group of 330 to 380 million consumers worldwide. The consumption of luxuries goes beyond the riches and wealth of countries, as the highest luxury spenders are to be found in places like the Middle East, Japan, and China. Luxury goods’ penetration relatively to GDP is low in countries like Germany and the U.S. and high in Italy, France, and South Korea. Wealth and economics alone cannot explain the economics underlying luxury consumption; culture is an important driver of growth in this sector. Culture gives meaning to luxuries, affects the perceived value and motivations to buy luxury goods, and determines luxuries’ signaling power and potency as differentiators and identity signifiers. Today, despite the size, growth and geographical spread of the luxury goods market, cross-cultural research is limited and rather scattered in different fields. Much of the research undertaken draws from Hofstede’s typology of culture and focuses on a narrow range of conceptual issues. The purpose of this presentation is to review and summarize existing cross-cultural research on luxury products and to identify fruitful future research directions that will expand our understanding of luxury goods marketing. In addition, attention will be given to examining current trends and behaviors in the field

In this empirical study, an attempt is made to show how the Customer Lifetime Value (CLV) can be computed by modeling multiple components of the customer and firm behavior. Specifically, attention will be given to modeling (1) the probability that a customer is likely to buy, (2) the quantity of purchase given that they will buy, and (3) the cost of marketing to each customer. Once the authors compute each of these inputs, they combine them to compute CLV using the net present value concept. The authors will examine multiple ways of computing purchase probabilities depending on the customer’s buying pattern. They will also discuss the estimation challenges in obtaining such inputs for computing CLV. The authors will demonstrate the implementation with a case study for a fashion retailer and what kind of managerial actions can be taken. Finally, a generalizable framework for all fashion retailers to maximize profits will be presented and discussed.

Storytelling has become increasingly of interest for marketing and management in the last years and promises both aesthetic design and effecting consumers’ perception of fashion brands positively. Nevertheless, the complexity of story design, still being rather focussed by the humanities, and its effective adaption for luxury fashion brands regarding value perception and related behavioural consequences are still poorly understood and have not been explored so far. We seek to fill this research gap. In our study, we chose a luxury brand’s existing story and applied story concepts of narratology to rearrange plot, characters, and style first. In a second step, we examined the effect of applying the story concepts by testing the perception of three different groups (no story, original story, and rearranged story). Using PLS path modelling, we proved our hypotheses empirically. Our examination suggests that an application of narrative concepts for creating fashion brand stories has a measurable impact on consumer’s reception and behavioural outcome. On the one hand, this involves dimensions of luxury value, such as financial, functional, individual, and social consumer perceptions as well as an overall likability perception of the brand. On the other hand, this perception obviously impacts consumption habits regarding luxury fashion as much as it is related to recommendation behaviour, willingness to pay a premium price, and purchase intentions. Our findings strongly advice to consult established theories, concepts, and models of the humanities for storytelling in marketing and management. While measuring specific elements already proves their applicability, it will be a major task for theoretical and qualitative research to discuss existing material for the demands of marketing and management as well as (fashion) brands. Even for professionals in brand management, our study advices to have a closer look on traditional storytelling concepts to create effective campaigns. The particular value of our study is to present and empirically verify design elements of storytelling with respect to theoretical narrative approaches, which may have specific impact on certain luxury values and their causal effects on luxury fashion consumption. Our results reflect remarkable implications for luxury brand management as well as future research in luxury fashion, brand management, and marketing storytelling. A luxury company may stimulate purchase behaviour with a storytelling campaign. Nevertheless our study proved that a rather appropriate design, respecting research approaches of narratology, is able to increase the impact on consumers’ perception and behavioural outcome.

Luxury brand marketers and advertisers are turning recent attention to social brand communities among users of luxury fashion brands (Ko & Megehee, 2012). Corporations or consumers build social brand communities to create authentic customer experiences, inspire interactivity, and enhance attitudes toward brand, brand loyalty, and purchase behavior. We look to structuration theory (Giddens, 1984) for providing new conceptual foundations for studying luxury brand communities (LBC) in the social media context. Our aim is to show that LBC strategies are effective for promoting luxury brands. Using structuration theory, we indicate that structure, integration, and interactivity provide conceptual frameworks for integrating and conceptualizing LBC. Our study is the first to use structuration theory concepts to develop a theoretical framework for LBC in the social media context. Through this study, we clarify (1) LBC structure, integration, and interactivity based on structuration theory in the social media context, (2) actual interaction and perceived interactivity of social media-based LBC, (3) structure, integration, and interactivity as they affect attitude, purchase intention, and brand loyalty as outcomes. Our clarifications suggest possible implications for luxury brand management practitioners. Marketing practitioners know that LBCs amplify customer relationships. Through this study, we offer insights to help luxury brand management practitioners understand customer behaviors in LBCs. Marketing practitioners will benefit from new ideas regarding how to develop and manage luxury brand strategies by understanding structure, integration, actual interaction, and perceived interactivity.

In the fashion industry, designers and researchers have proposed various sustainable fashion products (i.e., sustainability in product development), and retailers have also created many sustainable business practices (i.e., sustainability in distribution). However, according to the previous researches, even though the industry have offered a variety of sustainable designs and retail offers, consumers did not show a positive purchase behavior on the sustainable products. Currently, the gap exists between industry offers for sustainability and consumers’ expectation/acceptance of those offers. This result supports that there are other aspects than environmental protection aspect of the sustainable fashion products that need to be improved and/or be emphasized on to make consumers feel confident in purchasing. To examine consumers’ purchase behavior changes on sustainable fashion products, this study will measure consumers’ equity of sustainability on existing sustainable fashion products with three criteria of sustainable designs proposed by Day and Townsend (1993), which are socially equitable, economically viable, and environmentally benign. Then, consumers’ purchase intention for sustainable fashion products will be measured. The result will show the sustainable fashion product types that currently satisfy consumers so that the industry can concentrate on and develop the types further. In addition, this study will explore the impact of well-known brand names and cause-related marketing whether they would improve consumers’ purchase intention towards sustainable fashion products. No research has studied these two variables for sustainable fashion products as well as the equity of sustainability. Finally, different benefit sought groups will be tested whether they show different acceptance/preference and impact of brand names and cause-related marketing on the sustainable fashion products so that companies can set the appropriate strategies based on their target market’s benefit sought. PROPOSED MODEL AND HYPOTHESES Based on previous researches, the authors propose a new model shown in the figure 1, and the hypotheses are developed based on the model. H1. Significant differences in equity of sustainability, purchase intention before and after cause-related marketing and the relationships in the model. H1-1. Consumers will differently evaluate equity of sustainability of each sustainable fashion product type. H1-2. Consumers will have different purchase intention on each sustainable fashion product type. H1-3. Consumers will have different purchase intention on each sustainable fashion product type after cause-related marketing. H1-4. Equity of sustainability will significantly influence on purchase intention in all sustainable fashion product types. H1-5. Cause-related marketing will significantly improve purchase intention in all sustainable fashion product types. H2. Significantly different results in H1 between benefit sought groups. H2-1. Benefit sought groups will have significantly different equity of sustainability on all sustainable fashion product types. H2-2. Benefit sought groups will have significantly different purchase intention on all sustainable fashion product types. H2-3. Benefit sought groups will have significantly different purchase intention on all sustainable fashion product types after cause-related marketing. H2-4. Benefit sought groups will show a different relationship between equity of sustainability and purchase intention in all sustainable fashion product types. H2-5. Benefit sought groups will show a different influence of cause-related marketing on purchase intention in all sustainable fashion product types. H3. Significantly different results in H1 after adding well-known brand names on sustainable fashion product types. H3-1. Equity of sustainability will be significantly different for all sustainable fashion product types after adding well-known brand names. H3-2. Purchase intention will be significantly different for all sustainable fashion product types after adding well-known brand names. H3-3. Purchase intention after cause-related marketing will be significantly different for all sustainable fashion product types after adding well-known brand names. H3-4. The relationship between equity of sustainability and purchase intention will be different after adding well-known brand names in all sustainable fashion product types. H3-5. The influence of cause-related marketing on purchase intention will be different after adding well-known brand names in all sustainable fashion product types. H4. Different results from H2 after adding well-known brand names. H4-1. The significant difference of equity of sustainability between benefit sought groups will be different after adding well-known brand names in all sustainable fashion product types. H4-2. The significant difference of purchase intention between benefit sought groups will be different after adding well-known brand names in all sustainable fashion product types. H4-3. The significant difference of purchase intention after cause-related marketing between benefit sought groups will be different after adding well-known brand names in all sustainable fashion product types. H4-4. After adding well-known brand names, the result of the relationship between equity of sustainability and purchase intention in each benefit group will be different in all sustainable fashion product types. H4-5. After adding well-known brand names, the result of the relationship between cause-related marketing and purchase intention in each benefit sought group will be different in all sustainable fashion product types. RESEARCH METHOD A simple black dress which is the product silhouette consistently shown through all sustainable fashion product types and relatively low involved when purchasing was selected to minimize the cognitive effort to process/judge the product attributes (Tucker, Rifon, Lee & Reece, 2012). The equity of sustainability is determined as an average score of economic viability, social equity, and environmental responsibility of each sustainable fashion product type. Benefit segments most commonly studied in the previous researches are selected for this study which are price-conscious, fashion-conscious, brand-conscious, convenience-conscious, quality-conscious, self-express, and self-confidence groups. Brand name is a moderator variable to test the brand name effect on participants’ response. Two different versions of questionnaires were distributed. One version shows brand names on the product types, which are selected as reliable brand names from a pretest in terms of quality and credibility, and the other version does not show any brand names on the product types. The reliable brand names are luxury brands such as Ralph Lauren rather than middle to low-priced brands. Both versions include the question for purchase intention before and after cause-related marketing (e.g., “If 10% of this sales is donated to a non-profit organization to preserve our environment, I would buy this item.”). Only female consumers are allowed to participate in the survey because the stimuli are dresses. Surveys were distributed by a commercial survey data collection company. Total 399 surveys were usable (non-brand version, n=190; brand name version, n= 209). The majority of participants are between 25 to 44 years old (22-34 years 49.1%, 35-44 years 16.8%) and has a college degree (college degree 52.6%, graduate school degree 25.8%). RESULTS & CONCLUSIONS From the data analysis (see table 1), non-brand companies would have a benefit by offering transformable products in which consumers feel more value than other sustainable fashion product types. When showing luxury brand names, participants evaluated upcycling products as the highest equity of sustainability and purchase intention after cause-related marketing. The zero waste luxury brand product received the highest purchase intention before cause-related marketing and also received a significantly higher equity of sustainability than the non-brand zero waste product. Therefore, it is recommended for luxury brands to show their sustainability practice on the product through labels, especially showing a zero waste production label. The result in all sustainable fashion product types regardless of brand names showed that the higher sustainability, the higher purchase intention. Thus, again, it is important for companies to educate their sustainability practices (e.g., economic, social and environmental values) to consumers through either promotions or labels on the products. For both non-brand and luxury brand products, promoting a donation or support for community/society (i.e., cause-related marketing) on the product would influence consumers' purchase decision when selling the upcycling, recycling and promotion on fashion products. For example, companies could create/include a symbol of their cause-related marketing or include a symbol of a non-profit organization on the sustainable fashion products. Considering different benefit sought groups, the high fashion involved group scored the variables higher in most sustainable fashion product types in the model than the low fashion involved group did. When companies plan to offer sustainable fashion products, they need to target the high fashion involved group for a better sales outcome. Even though participants perceived that the upcycled product was highly sustainable, they purchased different product types. The high fashion involved group highly intended to purchase the transformable product in the non-brand product types and the animal-free product in luxury brand product types in both before and after cause-related marketing. Luxury brands are the ones typically consume most real animal furs and skins, and this might influenced the participants’ purchase intention. The low fashion involved group were willing to purchase the product with organic materials in both non-brand and luxury brands, but cause-related marketing increased the purchase intention on the most of product types. Companies targeting a low fashion conscious group are suggested developing/promoting organic fashion products and actively promote their community/society involvement. Regardless of benefit sought groups, higher equity of sustainability generated higher purchase intention. Again, companies need to inform/promote their sustainability practices to consumers through products or media to improve sales. The impact of cause-related marketing on the purchase intention was significant for the low fashion involved group in the upcycling, recycling, promotion on the product, zero waste and transformable products regardless of brand names. Therefore, when companies cannot appeal consumers with their brand names, the cause-related marketing plays an important role. The low fashion involved consumers seem to consider the after-purchase impact on the society than product itself when purchasing sustainable fashion products. The cause-related marketing had less impact for the high fashion involved group on their purchase intention than the low fashion involved group; however, the purchase intention of non-brand upcycling and the upcycling, recycling and promotion on the product for luxury brands have significantly improved after cause-related marketing. Companies, especially luxury brand names, need to include cause-related marketing when selling those product targeting the high fashion involved group.

Two studies of luxury product placement in a movie examine whether luxury placements increase movie viewers’ purchase intentions when backgrounds are congruent with the product’s luxury image (a message factor) and when the audience’s luxury associations are activated at the moment (an audience factor). In Study 1, participants’ luxury associations are implicitly activated by priming them with perceptions that they are members of high or low social classes. In Study 2, to explicitly activate their luxury associations, some participants read a news article that describes the placed luxury product as a genuine high-end product; others read an article that describes the placed luxury product as a discount brand. Both studies demonstrate the effects of product–environment congruence and luxury associations on consumer purchase intention.

This study enhances the capability to reproduce multi-coloured images in woven Jacquard forms where weave structure and pattern design were considerably involved in fabrication. In modern weaving, great convenience and efficiencies were established in both production and design process through digitalisation, while the colour adoption has been constrained as the applicable number of figuring yarns were limited. The enhancement toward colour realisation is traditionally related to weaving capability. Surface colour display is dominated by additive, subtractive or optical mixing (Mathur, 2007). An additive colour system offers the largest gamut among output models yet, the light mixing principle is not suitable to apply to weave colour creation. Pre-dyed opaque yarns are used and juxtaposed; small particles of yarn colours reflect lights and they were observed as a certain form of colour. The common and crucial criterial pertinent to an optical mixing of weave colours were aligned more with the subtractive mixing principle. A weave pattern was designed by subtractive primary colour classification and a multi-weft figuring method. Secondary colours are theoretically produced when coupled CMY layers are mixed(i.e., cyan + magenta = blue, cyan + yellow = green, magenta + yellow = red) and black is generated when all CMY primaries are mixed (Berns, 2000);however, non-bendable colours of threads are employed for colour reproduction in weaving and there is a limit to adopt a pigment mixing principle in the woven form. Therefore, each weave pattern required a modification to redefine primary colour regions and densities once an original artwork was separated and presented in greyscales levels. The weave patterns in an original subtractive scheme were altered by applying region-based segmentation to maximise the accessible colour gamut. In this study, the weaving application developed for the multi-coloured image was introduced and the design process was explained based on a practical experiment proceeded with a newly developed weaving application.

The influence of tourists on the retail market continues to grow and China is destined to become the largest outbound-spending nation in the world; subsequently, the interest on Chinese tourists has increasingly grown. The advancement in information technology and increased usage of SNS allows Chinese tourists share a variety of information online before or after they embark on to others. Data from the Korea Tourism Organization indicates that, “shopping” is the most searched keyword for Korean tours in 2014. The main shopping item of Chinese tourists is fashion or beauty products and we need a better understanding of the consumption behavior of Chinese tourists in relation to Korean fashion. We should consider shared content by Chinese consumers to promptly respond to needs and concerns. This study researches actual attitude of Chinese consumers toward Korean fashion items and shopping tourism using content analysis based on Chinese SNS. We investigate the representative portal search site Baidu (百度) and Weibo (微博) SNS primarily used by Chinese. Our investigation is limited to posts or comments one month before and after China’s National Day. Our analysis used translations of Chinese into Korean. A total of 70 words were selected based on the mentioned frequency by R Program forthe final analysis. Words were divided into groups based on content analysis similarity and word connectivity was researched using the Net Miner program. A total of 70 words used for the analysis were divided into three groups: shopping item, shopping behavior, and shopping place. The relevance of content to shopping item accounted for 39% and most of the shared information was about where to find cheaper items, various styles, or the latest fashion products. Shopping behavior accounted for 17% and the shared information was about how to compare products before purchase, how to communicate with salespersons, and how to obtain refunds after purchase. Shopping places area dominant group with 43% and half of the words about retail trade. Significant information was available on the main characteristics of retail trade areas such as Dongdaemoon market or Myeongdong. More information was shared on underground shopping centers or general road shops than on traditional shopping places, department stores, or duty free shops. The trends are particularly notable and help in understanding how Chinese tourists are more interested in shopping places where they can have new experiences. This study confirms the shopping behavior of Chinese tourists in Korea using content analysis of Chinese SNS. The shopping trend changes; the average Chinese tourist age drops and the Chinese tourist pattern shifts from large group tours to individualized small group tours. Appropriate responses to Chinese tourists must be based on understanding of their changing shopping needs. This study is useful to understand the actual attitudes and needs of Chinese consumers toward Korean fashion based on shared online content.

Generation X and baby boomers represent a significant group that are willing to spend. According to the American Express Open Forum (2013), baby boomers in America between the age 49 and 65 are more in favor of spending than any other consumer group. The Hyundai Research Institute (2015) stated that the market size for baby boomers will increase over 18% annually in Korea. Equally important is generation X, because this group is also reaching a high-earning stage of their lives (Luxury Daily, 2011). Further, they are predicted to take the place of baby boomers as a cash cow for marketers (American Express Open Forum, 2014).This lucrative demographic of baby boomers and generation X is a potential gold mine. Despite the fact that these groups are showing such interest in spending, brands and retailers are not giving them the same amount of attention. While more middle-aged women want to dress more youthfully, retailers and brands are not evolving their products at the same pace (USA Today, 2008). They are finding it difficult to find a solution to meet the needs of this aging but youthful group (USA Today, 2008). Brands such as Chico’s and Ann Taylor are not providing the styles that the women want, so boomers turn to younger brands such as Abercrombie & Fitch, H&M, and Forever 21 (Forbes, 2008). But the younger brands are not satiating their needs, either (Forbes, 2008). While the boomers and generation X are harnessing fashion economic control, the players in the market are lagging behind. To understand what the market must do to meet the apparel needs of baby boomers and generation X, it is pivotal to delve into how they feel about their age and how it affects the factors that influence their purchasing. According to Schiffman and Sherman (1991), aging is more of a state of mind than a physical state. Understanding older consumers through cognitive age (self-perceived age) has been done by many researchers (Sudbury & Simcock, 2009; Szmigin & Carrigan, 2012). Cognitive age indicates how older people view themselves in the context of aging. Barak and Schiffman (1981) stated that elderly respondents identified themselves as a younger age group when they were asked about their age-related feelings and actions. Equally important is understanding how cognitive age affects the physical self, which in this study, is body cathexis. Body cathexis, according to Labat and DeLong (1990), is “the evaluative dimension of body image and is defined as a positive and negative feeling towards one’s body.” While women may feel younger than they actually are, the body is inevitably aging. As Jang and Yoo (2011) reported after studying Korean women in their 40s and 50s, the correlation between cognitive ages and ideal body images were significant, and the younger they feel, the younger body images they desired. In addition, the physical self highly influences a person’s choice of clothing and how they perceive clothing in general (Kwon & Parham, 1994). When clothing is used in a positive manner, it can boost one’s self-confidence (Alexander, Connell, & Presly, 2005). It is also thought to be an extension of the physical self (Horn & Gurel, 1981). By understanding what middle-aged women seek when buying clothes, we can assume how satisfied they are about their body. Thus, the clothing benefits items and purchasing behavior of middle-aged women would most likely reflect the function of their clothing and how they perceive themselves.

Towards the 21st century, the whole world is regarded as one market. Globalization is spreading all over the world as many cosmetics companies pioneering new market abroad, overcoming relatively limited domestic markets. Korean cosmetics companies are not the exception and they are aiming Chinese consumer market, the largest one in Asia, which is growing steadily since government’s open door policy. So, the necessity to compare and figure out the difference between Korean and Chinese consumer’s cosmetics buying behavior is very high for those companies that have their eyes on the Chinese Market. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to compare buying behavior between Korean and Chinese female consumers related to Korean cosmetics brand level. Cosmetics buying behavior is examined in 4 areas; purchasing motives, information sources, purchasing criteria, and the level of satisfaction. Subjects were selected through a convenient sample technique and a questionnaire was developed in Korean and Chinese by translation and back translation method. Data were collected from the sample of 187 out of 233 in Beijing for Chinese female consumers, and 188 out of 200 in Pusan for Korean female consumers. Respondents’ age varied from 20’s to 50’s. Korean cosmetics brands were divided into high /low levels; low brand level included Micha, The face shop, and Laneige while high brand level included Sulhwasu, O’hui, and The history of who. Among many types of cosmetics, this study focused on the basic types of cosmetics product such as lotion, moisture cream, nutrition cream, mask pack with the exception of color based cosmetics products. Data were analyzed by ANOVA and cluster analysis using SPSS 20.0. Respondents were divided into 4 groups: Korean high brand purchasing consumers, Korean Low brand purchasing consumers, Chinese high brand purchasing consumers, and Chinese low brand purchasing consumers. 1. For purchase motives, Chinese consumers affected by Korean celebrities and had more motives to experience Korean cosmetics. To relax and to relieve from stress was the main reasons to buy Korean cosmetics for Chinese high brand consumers. Price was the main reason to buy Korean cosmetics for both low brand purchasing groups. 2. For information sources, Chinese consumers had tendency to collect information from personal relations such as friends and family. Korean and Chinese low brand consumers used internet advertising. Chinese high brand consumers collected information from department salesman. Korean high brand consumers showed lowest use of any kinds of information sources. 3. Korean high brand group put on importance on color and scent as cosmetics purchase criteria. Chinese high brand consumers showed importance on brand image, ingredients, containers/packing, skin fit, and feeling. Korean and Chinese low brand groups have importance on brand image, ingredients, and skin fit. 4. Concerned satisfaction level, Korean high brand group showed lowest satisfaction level. Chinese consumers had satisfied with container design and feelings.

Introduction 5 working days a week and wellness trends, that allows more consumers to actively enjoy outdoor activities, has led to a rapid growth in the outdoor clothing market. Buyers of outdoor clothing perceive them as causal and functional clothes that they can wear comfortably in daily life as well as for outdoor activities such as hiking and fishing (Park et al., 2002). There is an increased interest in outdoor activities by seniors who engage in various hobbies for health. Active seniors are energetic retirees who actively enjoy their retirement. They have emerged as a new consumer group in the inactive culture market (such as travel and the performing arts) due to their enjoyment of activities (such as language study, computer education, cosmetic/beauty treatments and sports) that is different from previous generations of older people (Korean Economic glossary, 2014). The most striking characteristic of active seniors is their generous investment in self-development based on secure assets and retirement income. Many studies have been done on senior citizens based on age that have examined body types (Ahn, 2003; Kim, 1995; Lee & Kim, 2007) and original clothing forms (Lee, 2003; Nam & Choi, 2002; Moon, 2008). However, these studies did not fully reflect the needs of active seniors interested in clothing. Additionally, most studies were conducted on female seniors with few studies on male seniors. It is necessary to accept and understand changes in the body types and physical functions of seniors body types and physical functions that accompany age and changing aesthetic sense with styles that are differentiated from existing elderly groups in regards to clothing for active seniors. A study on older men's body classification (Kim & Lee, 2003) indicated that the characteristics of older men's body types were not fully considered because a clothing sizing system was not separately established for older people. Most outdoor clothing companies produced patterns for a young generation. This study was conducted on the outdoor jacket wearing pattern of active male seniors. The results of this study can be used to design outdoor jackets that are produced at a reasonable price with a wearable function useful for outdoor activities and daily life.

Agriculture is classified as a hazardous industry worldwide according to NIOSH and ILO. However, farmers are vulnerable compared to people working in fields (such as mining and construction) that have a greater attention on safety and health. One of the hazardous factors in agriculture would be injury mortality related to extreme environmental conditions. Wearable items in agriculture (including clothing) are the nearest environment of the human body; subsequently, to understand the current state can be a way to establish an active prevention strategy against heat stress health risks from summertime agriculture work. This study investigates agricultural work wear and accessories that elderly farmers use. This study enrolled 120farmers (49males and 71 females) working in nine separate sites on different days. The average age of subjects was 61 years-old. Investigators examined the types of working posture, clothing, and items that the farmers used and/or wore. They also interviewed farmers to understand why they used such items when working. Nine surveys were conducted in 6 regions of South Korea from July 2012 to September, 2012. Environmental conditions were measured at 1.2 m heights above the ground at each site. The types of footwear (in order of foot wrapped area and thermal insulation) farmers wore were slippers, rubber shoes, loafers, running shoes, and boots. For example, the smallest area of the foot was wrapped by slippers while boots wrapped the largest area of the foot. This footwear also had different sole thickness. Loafers were used by the largest number of farmers. The second largest number of farmers used rubber shoes and boots. A total of 77.5% of farmers put on socks, and 85.9% of females and 65.3% of males put on socks. The types of hats which farmers wore were a baseball cap, a bucket hat, a sun cap, a hat for farmers, a towel, and a straw hat. The percentage of farmers wearing no hat during work was 39.2%. Baseball caps were worn by large number of male farmers but the largest percentage of female farmers wore ‘hat for farm work’. More than 50% of farmers working in PVC greenhouses did not wear hats and 25.0% of the farmers working in the fields did not wear hats. Accessories consisted of a belt, a scarf/towel, arm sleeves, gloves, a waist bag, a mask, and tools (weed whacker, scissors, hoe, foam seat pad, pick, rice-planting machine, ice-pack, sickle, shovel, lumbar pad, and integrated umbrella chair). Farmers wore lighter footwear as the weather condition was hotter. Footwear showed a difference with facility (ᵪ2=15.117, df=5, p=0.010) and had a relationship with facility. Lighter footwear was used in the PVC greenhouses rather than fields. The large number of the farmers wore loafers or boots in the fields, but the largest number of farmers in PVC greenhouses wore rubber shoes. A hat showed a difference with facility (ᵪ2=8.844, df=1, p=0.003) Hats had a significant relationship with facilities with more used in the fields rather than in PVC greenhouses. Elderly farmers wore a hat with shorter brim in the PVC greenhouse than in the fields. The type of footwear seemed related with facilities as well as weather. Farmers tended to wear lighter footwear when the weather is hotter or they work in PVC greenhouse. The majority of elderly farmers wore loafers and rubber shoes which had indistinguishable thin soles. The type of hats showed a difference between facilities (as well as gender) and only 31.7% of all participants used long brims.

Seniors have more economic power, leisure time and better health compared with the past; in addition, there with increased social activity opportunities that allow for active and independent consumption activities based on their economic independence. Therefore, the silver industry for elderly consumers is buoyant in the development of product planning and marketing strategies that target seniors. It is necessary to know the exact characteristics of advanced age along with feet studies that provide basic information on the shape of shoes; however, there are few studies on elderly men's feet. This study develops a shoe sizing system for elderly men based on previous studies which analyzed the aspects of sole shape for individuals aged 60 or over. The distribution on KS G 3405 (2001) was examined and basic items were selected based on a correlation analysis of items related to foot shape. The measurement interval was based on KS and cross analysis was conducted for basic items to select an interval which indicated a frequency of more than 5% by type with a measurement system established by type. The results of the study are as follow. A sizing system was developed with an interval of 5 mm for foot length, an interval of 3 mm for the circumference of the top of the foot and an interval of 6 mm for the circumference of the top of the foot within the same foot length standard to develop a shoe sizing system for elderly men. The respective sizing systems in accordance with type were developed and 12 types of sizing systems were suggested for elderly men to reflect characteristics by type. The differences in sizing system were compared by combining sizing systems by type of sole for elderly men. Type H consists of the greatest number of foot length sections using 7 sections of foot length at 235-265 mm, Type A consists of 6 sections of foot length at 240-265 mm and Type V and D consist of 6 sections of foot length at 235-260 mm. The circumference of the top of the foot has 7 sections from C to F; Type H and A consist of C-EEEE and Type V consists of 6 sections of D-F, and Type D consists of 5 sections of D-EEEE. Type H and A include the sections of small circumference of the top of the foot; however, Type V includes the sections of large circumference of the top of the foot and Type D includes the section of small foot length and a large circumference that indicated differences between type. Type H, subtype 1 (the frontal part of the foot is high and the central part of the foot is low) and 2 (the frontal part of the foot is low and the central part of the foot is high) shows the distribution of size appellation in the sections of C-D where the circumference of the top of the foot is smaller than subtype 3 (the frontal part of the foot is low and the central part of the foot is low) that indicated that the size table is suggested with the reflection of size appellation only for Type H of small width and large height. Appellations are classified in accordance with 3-dimensional type in the section less than 240 mm of foot length. Type V show the same distribution of the appellation (including the section of D-EEE) for all the three types, except for a part of the section of 260 mm. The size appellations of subtypes 2 and 3 are distributed in section F, which indicates the formative characteristics of the foot with a large width or height. Type A has differences in appellation distribution between 3-dimensional types; subtype 2 is distributed in the small circumference section and indicates that Type A has the foot shape with a small width and high height. The distribution of size appellation of subtypes 3 and 1 with the section of large circumference suggests that subtype 3 of Type A (the foot shape with the largest width) has no large foot length and subtype 1 has a large foot length. Type D has differences in appellation among three subtypes, but all of them are included in subtype 1 and suggests that the subtype 1 sizing system can be used. The results indicate that a shoe sizing system for elderly men by foot type could improve the suitability of shoes and provide a wider range of size and satisfaction that helps shoe makers produce shoes of various purpose and function for seniors.